real time power trading?
talked to a RT power trader who does the 12 hr shifts and was intrigued with the time off I could get at a young age + work experience. any body have input or experience on working the role?
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Big fan. I’ve been an RT power trader in the US for the last 2.5 years since graduating. It really depends on the schedule that your company gives you, some are better than others. Also depends on comp. The majors will usually pay higher bases. The places I’ve worked at emphasize spec trading which is a lot more fun on a day to day than simply managing assets.
curious as to what pay is like
Get to browse WSO during night shift so it's not a bad gig
Work as a rt trader for a small spec shop. Here are the main things that I like/dislike about working rt
Like
Shift Work (4 on, 6 off)
Discretionary Trading with own risk limits early on into the gig
No meetings/decks/saving face bs (Worked at a sell side shop in fixed income and did my fair share of analyst grunt work, bringing coffee etc)
Comp (Base + %age of shared book)
Dislike
Learning curve flattens out 4-6 months in
You can do this job without speaking to anyone and stare at the screen all day/night
Hard to take extended time off without swapping shifts or working remotely while on vacation (at least at my shop)
good list.. i worked RT for a few years and spot so
I work in the EU, for a small shop that does everything from B2B supply to smart steering of battery assets. We do have a shift role in place, and we also have the freedom to trade in our own book while off shift. The fixed salary is pretty low and bonus comp is about 20% (of shared book that's managed on shift + individual prop book). How are the bonus percentages at your shop? I've had quite a few offers (pure prop shops) offering me an individual bonus share >> 20% lately.
I’ve done RT shift (7 on, 7 off) for a while now. Overall it’s pretty good. I personally struggle with moving from nights back to days and have had many mondays and Tuesdays in the office severely sleep deprived. Pay is pretty variable depending how much you’re bringing in on the spec side - it is a direct relationship to your pnl number.
The RT desk is your ticket into power trading if that is what you want to do. Everyone starts there, except FTR traders usually, they’re mostly quants.
When choosing a place to work RT, you need to be deliberate, I was offered this advice early in my career so I will offer it to you. You need to work on a desk, and at a place that trades, if you want to trade. You don’t want to simply be a power scheduler or dispatcher. Ideally you go work at a place that does both. Nights suck, but if you are smart, and driven, there is a lot of money to be made at night.
Good to get to know the business but learning curve flattens quickly (at least it did for me). Shift work isn't sustainable in the long run.
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